April 21, 2009 - There will never be another SEGA. While their reign as a first-party has long ended, and the name hardly carries the cachet it once had, the industry owes deep debt to the former giant. An innovator and an unrivaled creative powerhouse, they were perhaps the greatest single developer in gaming history.
While rival Nintendo has shown an unmatched ability to maintain a small handful of blockbuster series, SEGA churned out brilliant original franchises one after another with such frequency they made it seem effortless. Their hit series were practically disposable, because they knew the next one would be just as good. All across the world, from Tokyo, to San Francisco, to Lyon, their studios always bet on the gamble, always took chances, and to their fans, they were always winners.

January 28, 2009 - Videogame franchises are kind of like Jason Voorhees -- no matter how long they've been dead, they always seem to show up again, eventually. It's very common for fans of a particular retro game or series to pine for its return on modern systems. Sometimes our prayers are answered and the result is glorious: Fallout 3, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, and Metroid Prime come to mind. But then there are those long-awaited sequels and remakes that end up being gravely disappointing and do a disservice to the source material. Maybe the revamp was developed by an entirely different team that wasn't related to the original game and didn't "get" what made it so great. Or maybe it was a rushed job that was hoping to coast on the nostalgia of gamers. Whatever the reasons, there are certainly remakes and sequels that took forever to arrive but ultimately made us wonder, "why did they even bother?!" Here are our top 10 worst offenders

September 25, 2008 - Ever since SEGA announced its decision to abandon the hardware game and focus solely on software, it's reached deep into its enviable heritage for inspiration. Few game houses have such a staggering back catalog, and you can hardly blame SEGA for taking advantage of it between its recent attempts at launching new franchises or publishing games outside its accepted comfort zone. This fall, SEGA is returning to a once-popular series that has been essentially dormant since 1995: Golden Axe.
Released into arcades in 1989, Golden Axe was an instant hit. SEGA already had a successful action game inhaling quarters at the arcades, Altered Beast, and Golden Axe helped underline SEGA's continued dominance in the arena. But more than just an arcade smash, SEGA saw the potential for Golden Axe at home. Golden Axe would be quickly prepped for the then-new Genesis, giving it yet another stunning arcade translation that put further distance between the aging NES and SEGA's brand-new 16-bit machine.
After a bright run that included sequels and side stories, SEGA let the series burn out for almost 13 years. With Golden Axe: Beast Rider about to drop on October 17, IGN Retro is taking a look back at a franchise that started strong and lost a lot of luster over the years before it was ultimately shelved for well over a decade.

July 8, 2008 - RetroCity is back -- and about to go to E3. Episode 8 tracks some of the retro revivals we're hoping to see at E3, such as Golden Axe: Beast Rider and Bionic Commando. Is this the start of another round of re-imagined classics? Plus, listen to three more classic game tracks, including the title theme to Cinemaware's Defender of the Crown.

December 14, 2006 - The Adder of Death is unyielding. He lusts for the throne without end. You, humble dwarf, seek his downfall. You seek it alone, or with friend. The quest is a long one, the dangers are many; unrelenting the Adder's attacks. But you, humble dwarf, will find victory -- if with mastery you wield Golden Axe.

June 7, 2004 - Deep down in every gamer's brain there is embedded a short sharp sound bite. Two syllables and just four letters, the cry of "SEGA!" is within us all no matter how hard we try to get rid of it. It almost seems like SEGA itself is trying to be forgotten as well. Sonic and his "blast processing" helped to bring the company into a strong position way back, but several missteps later SEGA has been reduced to just making software. It had become a shadow of its former self.
Recently infused with some cash from Sammy, SEGA just might be able to pull off a comeback. Rather than just sit on the sidelines and drink cheap coffee and wait for the next generation of SEGA titles to roll in, we've decided that we're going to offer our unsolicited help in the matter. With three editors to provide some input from our decades of gaming experience, we think that we can provide some insight.